Mecklenburg Commissioners Vote In Favor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mecklenburg County commissioners voted against two highly controversial issues in a Tuesday night meeting.

The board voted four to three in favor of Republican Commissioner Bill James' resolution supporting a state bill that would amend the constitution to ban gay marriages in North Carolina.

Democratic commissioners argued it's an issue for state lawmakers, not county commissioners.


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Journo jailed for defamation
(SA)  


Rabat - Moroccan journalist Anas Tadili, director of the weekly Akhbar Al Ousboue, was on Tuesday sentenced to six months in prison for defamation after accusing a government minister of homosexuality, judicial officials said.

Tadili's weekly reported in April that a government minister, whose name was not given but who could easily be identified within the context of the article, had been caught by the police in a sexual act with a man in a seaside resort in northern Morocco.

The Akhbar Al Ousboue chief was charged with "defaming and disparaging a government figure and spreading false information".


Ten days after the article was published, Morocco's biggest press union, SNPM, criticised Tadili for spreading false rumours in his article headlined: Homosexuality and Morocco's political class.


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Gay community in Jerusalem shrugs off abuse
Hazel Ward | Jerusalem, Israel


Jerusalem's gay community was preparing on Wednesday for strong opposition to its annual Gay Pride march after provocative posters comparing homosexuals to child molesters were plastered all over the Holy City.

Sharp opposition to Jerusalem's third annual Gay Pride parade, set to take place on Thursday under the slogan "Love without Borders", was evident throughout the week with the appearance of an offensive poster campaign accusing the homosexual community of paedophilia.

"Mother, I heard that bad people who sexually assault and sodomise children are holding a parade ... Help me! I am afraid!" read the posters, which were put out by a group reportedly linked to the banned racist movement Kach.

Parade organisers appeared unruffled by the virulent campaign, which has made an annual appearance ever since the first Jerusalem Pride took place in 2001.


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Gay rape exposes seamy side of touristy Nepal
Kathmandu, :

The alleged abuse of three homosexual male sex workers has created a furore in Nepal, exposing the sordid side of the glittering tourism industry in the picturesque tiny Himalayan kingdom.

The Blue Diamond Society, a social work group based in capital Kathmandu, has filed a police complaint accusing two men of raping one gay cross-dresser and abusing his two companions.

According to the complaint, the three sex workers were picked up by two men from a restaurant and promised a certain amount of money. The five then went to the White Lotus Guest House in the tourist hub of Thamel where the clients reportedly went on a drinking spree and abused the sex workers.

When the cross-dressers asked for money, the men beat them up and raped one of them. Eventually, the trio managed to escape and inform police, who arrested the two men from the guesthouse.


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A Episcopal bishop presides over same-sex union
Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - A bishop at the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese blessed a same-sex union in what is believed to be the first such action by a sitting Episcopal bishop since the church gave its tacit approval to such unions last August.

The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the six-county diocese, confirmed Tuesday that he had blessed on May 16 the union of the Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd, 80, and his partner of 20 years, Mark Thompson, 51. Five other bishops were present.

Church officials in Los Angeles and New York said they believed Bruno was the first sitting bishop to preside over such a ceremony since the church's General Convention last summer. The General Convention also confirmed the election of an openly gay priest as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire.

The ceremony does not mention the words marriage or wedding. The Episcopal Church does not sanction same-sex marriage.


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Gay rights fray snares homestead bill
Proposal was meant to protect the elderly
By Jan Moller
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- Supporters of a constitutional amendment designed to modify the state's homestead exemption backed away Tuesday from a provision that has become an unlikely flash point in the election-year battle about gay rights.

Sen. Reggie Dupre, D-Montegut, said Senate Bill 806 is meant only to preserve the lucrative tax break for widows and widowers with adult children who might otherwise face crippling property tax bills.

But a provision in the bill would bar unmarried couples from taking advantage of the law that exempts the first $75,000 of a home's value from property taxes, prompting opponents to charge that the amendment would discriminate against gay couples and unmarried people who own a home together.

The bill was approved 37-1 by the Senate in April with the controversial language included, but Rep. Shirley Bowler, R-Harahan, wants to repeal the provision when the bill is debated on the House floor.


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Common-law rules about to change
Eliza Barlow
BRANDONSUN


Common-law couples are being advised to contact their lawyers before the end of this month, when sweeping new laws subjecting them to the same property rights and obligations as married couples come in.

"It's going to cause people to reflect more seriously on whether or not they should choose to accept the responsibilities of a family unit," said Bernie Rodrigue, a Brandon lawyer.
"I think too little thought is given to that now."

As the law stands now, if a common-law relationship breaks up, each partner keeps only the property that's in his or her name.

And if one partner dies, there is currently no law entitling the surviving partner to a share of the estate.
But as of June 30, each common-law partner is entitled to half the value of all the property the couple acquired together during the relationship.